Alcohol Addiction

What kind of drinker are you, occasional or regular? If you take drinks occasionally then keep an eye on your drinking pattern because many a time unknowingly drinking crosses line of limits from occasional to social and from social to problem drinking. If you are drinking to forget the problems or to avoid bad feeling then you are prone to become addicted to alcohol.

Alcohol addiction means having a dangerous or unhealthy drinking habit like taking drinks every day or too much at a time. Just like any other harmful addiction, alcohol addiction is also a life-threatening addiction. Around the world millions of people are addicted to alcohol. Alcohol is one of the major problems of US; around 17.6 million people have an alcohol addiction in the United States. (https://ncadd.org/for-the-media/alcohol-a-drug-information) As per alcohol statistics, around 50,000 cases of alcohol overdose get registered every year.
(http://www.caron.org/knowledge-library/statistics-outcomes/alcohol-stats) There are various factors which cause alcohol addiction such as social environmental, psychological and genetic. The process of being addicted starts slowly and over the time it enhances and starts changing body’s normal chemical balance and brain’s nerve tracks. It gives a person pleasure, good feelings, and as a result he or she gets a craving of alcohol on a regular basis. Apart from the brain, alcohol damages other body parts too. It proves harmful for developing fetus, liver, heart etc. Alcohol strongly affects on your muscle coordination, speech, and major brain centers. Sometimes, a habit of heavy drinking may cause coma.
Alcohol is not only dangerous for an individual but is extremely threatening to the whole society; the given statistic justifies the statement – “every year 1.4 million drink and drive cases are registered in the US. (http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/international-statistics.html) Earlier, it was a most common addiction among adults but now it has become most preferred drug among teenagers. In many death cases of teenagers, alcohol has been found as a common reason behind it. Just similar to other drugs, alcohol consumption also causes some physical and mental symptoms that indicate a person is alcohol addicted. Delayed reflexes, vomiting, nausea, incoherent speech, redness of eyes and face, loss of consciousness, stomach pain etc. are some of the physical symptoms of alcohol overdose. Sometimes, the people also face breathing problem due to excessive consumption. The progressive drinking pattern causes even more serious health problems. It causes some behavioral signs too such as insomnia, increase in anger and other emotions, losing control over drinks, and intensions of taking legal, health and financial risks.

Even though alcohol addiction is too dangerous and not easy to completely take away from one’s life, still there is one solution, which people can try and get back their loving life. A proper medical treatment is the ultimate way out. It’s not like that people don’t try to come out of the addiction on their own but due to the pain of withdrawal procedure they cannot avoid it. These people require support of rehab centers, where they get proper consultation, medication and therapy. Winning over the addiction is undoubtedly a challenge; therefore, the sufferer needs strong support to handle the pressure of the challenge and get a victory.